The assessment of participant success at the neonatal resuscitation training on last six months of 2007 in turkey

This is a descriptive study which aims to measure factors affecting change in knowledge and success of trainees during the NRP courses organized in Turkey. The study covers 1411 health professionals that attended the NRP courses held across the country in the second half of 2007.The Course Reports prepared in electronic and print copies during the courses were used for the purpose of this study. Data utilized include profession, specialty, place of work and gender of each participant, scores of pretest, posttest, end-of-session tests, certificate test and practicum test and answers of pretests and posttests.The results of the study suggest that 98.5% of participants successfully finished the courses and that there are statistically significant differences between scores of the pretest and posttest. Success levels in both pre- and posttest very significantly for trainees depending on professions, place of work and gender.Participants were most successful in the topic ?Preterm Neonate? (Session 8). This was followed by ?Overview and Principles of Resuscitation? (Session 1), ?Initial Steps? (Session 2), ?Compression? (Session 4), ?Special Circumstances? (Session 7), ?Drugs? (Session 6), ?Ventilation? (Session 3) and ?Intubation? (Session 5). The ranking in the posttest is Session 6, Session 8, Session 1, Session 4, Session 2, Session 3 and Session 7.In the end-of-session tests, the participants were most successful in Session 4. This was followed by Session 7, Session 8, Session 6, Session 2, Session 1 and Session 5 respectively. The session participants scored lowest was Session 3.The averages of success in certificate and practicum examinations which were held for overall course evaluation and certification were 94.8±4.7 and 95.5±4.5 respectively. The scores are statistically significant between groups A and B. Group B scored higher in both examinations.It was observed that the participants have acquired the intended change in knowledge the needed skills. Yet, it is clear that it will be useful to reevaluate knowledge and skills after a certain period of time in order to better measure NRP practices.